The Fletcher class was a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939, as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types of the Porter and Somers classes. Some went on to serve during the Korean War and into the Vietnam War.

The United States Navy commissioned 175 Fletcher-class destroyers between 1942 and 1944, more than any other destroyer class, and the design was generally regarded as highly successful. Fletchers had a design speed of 38 knots and an armament of five 5" guns in single mounts with 10 21" torpedoes in two quintuple centerline mounts. The Allen M. Sumner and Gearing classes were Fletcher derivatives.

The long-range Fletcher-class ships performed every task asked of a destroyer, from anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft warfare to surface action. They could cover the vast distances required by fleet actions in the Pacific and served almost exclusively in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, during which they accounted for 29 Imperial Japanese Navy submarines sunk, In a massive effort, the Fletchers were built by shipyards across the United States and, after World War II ended, 11 were sold to countries that they had been built to fight against: Italy, Germany, and Japan, as well as other countries, where they had even longer, distinguished careers. Three have been preserved as museum ships in the U.S. and one in Greece. later.

On January 17th, 1958, the destroyer was loaned to the Federal Republic of Germany, and renamed Zerstorer 1. She was returned to United States custody and simultaneously struck from the Navy list on April 15th, 1972. The ship was then sold to West Germany on June 27th, 1972, for cannibalization and scrapping. The ship was stricken in 1976. She was sunk by U-29 as a torpedo target in the Mediterranean on May 16th, 1979.

Shown here is a 1:1250 scale replica of the famed German Bundesmarine Type 119 destroyer, Z1. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 7-inches

Release Date: May 2019